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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23621533">New Kings</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/liruicchi/pseuds/liruicchi'>liruicchi</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Haikyuu!!</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-04-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-04-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 17:29:16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>8,379</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23621533</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/liruicchi/pseuds/liruicchi</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>(INSPIRED BY 'NEW KINGS' - SLEEPING WOLF)<br/>Fantasy AU, with factions and rulers they call 'Kings'. Suddenly, things start to go wrong in different Factions, raising fear and a new generation of Kings to rise.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>New Kings</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>v messy. I sorry.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>SHIMADA MAKOTO</p><p> </p><p>The Third King. King of Stone.</p><p> </p><p>Daichi sighed. He'd been wandering for two weeks now, maybe more, in the Rocalian Wood, frantically searching for any sign of his King. So far, his search turned up nothing.</p><p> </p><p>The man bit the inside of his mouth, allowing himself to rest on the roots of a large tree. Where was Makoto? It had been at least a month or so since Daichi last saw him. Makoto wasn't the type to disappear for so long without warning, especially with the Powers moving around like they had since he left. At first, Daichi had just thought that it was a skirmish between two Factions. But, after another few days, the shaking earth and empty-skied nights had proven otherwise. Something was wrong.</p><p> </p><p>So Daichi had set out to find his King, the one who might know what to do about the situation. But, no sign of Makoto could be found. It was as if he'd vanished without so much as a trace.</p><p> </p><p>The rustling of leaves sounded, causing Daichi to jolt up and throw his hand out,  summoning the earth around him to prepare for battle. When he felt the earth respond weakly, almost silently, before going completely quiet, alarm bells rang in his head. He was the Right-hand of the Stone King, not many could combat his control over the earth. No, he hadn't thrown much power into it, the chances of someone being able to still the earth under his control wasn't that low. Again, the man tried, but still the earth gave no reply, not even a low rumble. Every rock, every stone, was still.</p><p> </p><p>Daichi jumped to his feet, readying his stance. Just who was it that they could combat the Right-hand? Perhaps a former Right-hand? If it was, they might be trying to kill him. The chances were low, but...</p><p> </p><p>More leaves rustled. Immediately, Daichi pinpointed the location of the thing and dove for it, grabbing its arms and setting his knees over their legs from reflex. A jolt went through him, but he pushed past it. Their tricks wouldn't work on him. Daichi glared down at the thing, eyes glowing a dark brown. To his surprise, what he found wasn't a wielder with murderous intent spelled all over their face, or in their green eyes, but rather a frightened young boy, tears in the corner of his eyes.</p><p> </p><p>Softly cursing himself, Daichi let go of the boy's arms, lifting his knees from him. But, he moved his hand to rest on the hilt of his sword. Just in case.</p><p> </p><p>The boy shakingly lifted himself, lifting his body enough to sit. When he finally did, Daichi hardened his stare. "Who are you?" he questioned.</p><p> </p><p>"Y-Yamaguchi Tadashi..." the boy answered, averting his gaze. Despite the lowering of his eyes, Daichi noticed the beautifully bright, almost unnatural, bright green colour of them. Almost as if they were glowing. An uncomfortable feeling settled in his stomach. Perhaps the jolt from earlier was still in effect. Daichi gripped his sword harder. "What's your name?" the question was so quiet that Daichi had no doubt if he was standing any further from the boy, he wouldn't have heard him.</p><p> </p><p>"Sawamura Daichi," Daichi replied, staring hard at the boy. Just what was he? To have been able to take his control over earth...Time for an energy search, then.</p><p> </p><p>"Uh...Are you okay..?" The teenager sweated. Daichi just disregarded whatever came out of his mouth, pupils dilating as he tried to focus on feeling the boy's energy. The moment he touched it, Daichi could feel it, the familiarity that immediately made his energy comfortable. Makoto's energy.</p><p> </p><p>Suddenly, Daichi felt heavy. His vision doubled and he stumbled, releasing his grip on his sword. He felt, heard, his breathing get heavier, coming now in shallow pants. Daichi could feel himself shaking, too, just as he could see the boy, the one with Makoto's energy, moving towards him, a worried look painted over his face. "Are you okay?!"</p><p> </p><p>Daichi held out a hand to stop him from advancing any further, from touching him with those hands that now wielded Makoto's energy. "Don't- Don't touch me," Daichi rasped, taking a stumbling step away from the boy. Any kind of distance from him was good.</p><p> </p><p>The boy moved forward still, reaching out a hand. "Mister, are you sure you're alright-"</p><p> </p><p>"Don't come near me!" Daichi shouted, spinning to throw his arm off. Shocked, the boy fell back, landing on his his behind. Daichi, too, fell, a dull roar in his ears, too loud for him to hear much else. He felt almost nothing but a tap when he came into contact with the floor, his vision tripling at this point.</p><p> </p><p>The only way the kid could have Makoto's energy was if he was the new Stone King, but the only way for him to have risen to that position was if Makoto had...If Makoto had passed on, leaving behind his position as King, and his rule over the Powers.</p><p> </p><p>No. There was no way Makoto was dead. He refused to believe it. But, how else could this scrawny little boy have Makoto's energy? No, there was still a way for Makoto to be alive. His energy was so similar it was almost identical, but almost identical didn't mean the same. There was a difference, if slight, between their energies. But Daichi recognised that part, too.</p><p> </p><p>He screwed his eyes shut and threw his back onto the floor, rubbing at his temples. <em>Come on, Daichi, calm down, calm down</em>...</p><p> </p><p>After a few minutes, the man sat up again, the roar in his ears now quieter. He looked to the timid boy, who was still staring at him with an expression of mixed confusion and fear. Daichi almost felt bad for causing that. Not almost, actually. He did feel bad.</p><p> </p><p>"Yamaguchi Tadashi," he said, wobbling as he lifted himself into a standing position, no longer resting his hand on the hilt of his sword. It was quite obvious that this child, perhaps not even past the tender age of fifteen, wouldn't harm him. "You are a new King, aren't you?"</p><p> </p><p>A silence followed. Then,</p><p> </p><p>"What do you mean? King?"</p><p> </p><p>⎓</p><p> </p><p>"Kei!"</p><p> </p><p>Kei cringed at the familiar voice, shutting the book he had been reading and setting it down. "Yes, brother?" he said, turning his head to stare at the blonde man who swung his bedroom door open, a smile prominent on his face. It amazed Kei every day how he could be so bright, even as the Fifth King, the one who ruled the night.</p><p> </p><p>The man, still smiling, made his way over to the teenaged boy, black cloth flowing behind him. He hated wearing all black, as Kei recalled, so he wasn't surprised when he saw a white and red amulet around his neck. It definitely wasn't to do with the Night Faction. "Guess who's getting married?"</p><p> </p><p>Kei choked. <em>What</em>? He was joking, right? The boy looked at his brother with a face of bewilderment, while the other's face remained in a bright smile. "You're kidding, right? I thought you said you and that Wind girl were taking things slow-"</p><p> </p><p>The Night King laughed, bending over slightly as he clutched his stomach. "We are. I'm talking about <em>you</em>, Kei." Kei blinked. What? "I've found a nice girl for you. Her name is Yui, she's from the Stone Faction."</p><p> </p><p>"Akiteru..." Kei started, clenching his fists, eyes cold as he stared at his older brother and King, "I thought you said that you would never force an arranged marriage on me."</p><p> </p><p>Akiteru just shook his head, making a dismissive gesture. "I didn't mean it like that, Kei. Yui is a very nice girl, all I ask is that you spend some time with her, and you can decide whether you want to wed her or not." Kei nodded. He supposed that wouldn't be too bad, annoying as it would be. It wasn't as bad as an arranged marriage.</p><p> </p><p>"Alright," he sighed, standing and dusting himself off, "I'll do it. When do I meet this 'Yui'?"</p><p> </p><p>"Right now, actually," Akiteru revealed, and before Kei could say anything else, his hand was grabbed and he was whisked to another part of the castle. When they finally stopped, Kei saw that they were in the throne room. And standing in the middle, right on the rug, was a young girl, her green hair thick and rolling over her pale shoulders. She didn't look much younger than Kei, and was probably not that short, even being a head shorter than Kei himself. Kei supposed she wasn't too shabby, anyone would deem her worthy of being wed to someone who was commonly known as the 'prince' of the Night Faction. That didn't mean he liked her, though.</p><p> </p><p>She bowed, her beautiful locks gliding over her shoulders smoothly, "Greetings, Fifth King, Prince Kei. It is an honour to be standing here with the oppurtunity I have been gifted." So she spoke well, too. Amazing. Kei still didn't like her.</p><p> </p><p>"Hello," Kei greeted back. That was all she was getting.</p><p> </p><p>Akiteru internally facepalmed. Of course. This was Kei they were talking about, he wouldn't exactly be the kindest. Akiteru nudged his brother, causing the taller teen to shoot him an annoyed look, to which Akiteru just returned with one that said, '<em>go on, talk to her</em>'. Kei gave out an almost inaudible grunt that Akiteru prayed to the Powers of this world the girl couldn't hear.</p><p> </p><p>"You're Yui, correct?" his tone was flat and his bow was shallow enough that if he wasn't the so-called 'Prince' of the Night Faction, he would've been slapped. Kei supposed he should be grateful for his title, then. The girl nodded and bowed again. Booty-licker.</p><p> </p><p>"I am Michimiya Yui of the Third Faction. It is a great pleasure to meet you, Prince Kei."</p><p> </p><p>Kei just nodded, a little carelessly. "And vice versa," he hummed, already growing tired of this girl. Whether it was out of annoyance or actual boredom, Kei didn't know. "Are you getting up yet? I know that you're lower in both height and status, but if you're planning on becoming one of us, you should at least lift your head from a bow." Surprise was apparent in the girl's emerald eyes when she lifted her head to look at him. Perhaps she'd never been spoken to like that, being so lovely and probably rich. Though, you never knew with Akiteru. This girl could be anything ranging from a child of an affluent family to a street urchin, with his mindset.</p><p> </p><p>"Come on, Kei. Be a little more warm!" Akiteru tried, noticing the slight tension. He walked up to Keldori and ruffled her hair, but it immediately fell back into a neat wave, even with strands in her face. "Don't mind Kei. I swear he'll warm up to you if you just give him some time."</p><p> </p><p>The blonde rolled his eyes at the man. "Can I leave now?"</p><p> </p><p>Yui looked like she wanted to say something at that, but Akiteru just made a dismissive gesture. "Fine, fine. Go be a moody teenager, I have something to discuss with Yui anyway." Probably plans on how to get him to fall for her, but Kei honestly didn't care. Annoying as it was to think about it, it would be easy enough to push Yui away. Then, Akiteru couldn't say anything, because he'd still gone through with this stupid plan of his, and Kei could keep being single in peace.</p><p> </p><p>As soon as Akiteru turned to speak with the Stone girl, Kei started to exit the room. He suspected that the peace he'd be experiencing in the duration of their little meeting would become a little more rare in the coming weeks.</p><p> </p><p>It took but ten or so minutes to reach his bedroom with his leisurely walking. He pushed the door open without applying much force or effort, immediately making a beeline for his bed. He laid himself down gently, so as not to make a mess of his bed. But, even lying down so carefully, he felt something poking at him. With slight annoyance, the prince realised it was the book he'd been reading before and pulled it out with a small sound of indignance.</p><p> </p><p>He held it up, still lying on his back, staring at it. The light from the setting sun outside shone on it, revealing the title. It wasn't like it was a <em>bad</em> book. He supposed it was good enough to read until he fell asleep, the last rays of the sun being his source of light.</p><p> </p><p>⎓</p><p>A blade pierced Kei's skin, drawing blood as it cut his stomach. He gasped, throwing his arm out as he jolted up. Through his spectacles, he could just make out the dark form of a tall figure with what seemed to be flowing dark robes. How cliche.</p><p> </p><p>Kei pushed himself back on his bed, eyes widened. Just who were they, to get past the Guard? He grabbed the sword that Bokuto, the head of the Guard, had forced him around a year ago to keep near his bed at all times. At the time, Kei had thought it was ridiculous. Now, he thanked the mighty Powers that Bokuto had forced the weapon onto him.</p><p> </p><p>The figure swung again, robes flying with their movement. What caught Kei's attention, however, wasn't the robe or even the intricately decorated blade, but the red and white amulet that peeked out, twin to the one Kei had always seen his brother wear.</p><p> </p><p>The realisation that crept in hurt more than any blade or stab wound.</p><p> </p><p>Kei blocked the hit with his own sword, clenching his teeth. No, he wouldn't give into panic or distress. He couldn't—his life was on the line. The blonde kicked out at the figure—supposedly Akiteru—and jumped off the bed, stomping on them. He held their head at swordpoint for good measure.</p><p> </p><p>A head of blonde, the same shade as his brother's. The robes were the same, too, along with the amulet that had been gifted to him by his lover from the Wind Faction. It was Akiteru.</p><p> </p><p>"Brother?" Kei's voice came out more raspy—more broken—than he'd wanted it to. Perhaps he couldn't always hide his feelings behind his carefully crafted mask of calm mockery.</p><p> </p><p>When the man didn't answer, Kei shifted his sword, lifting their chin with the flat of it. The face he was met with definitely belonged to his brother, but the eyes, the expression...</p><p> </p><p>This was not Akiteru.</p><p> </p><p>His eyes were bleak, empty as a star less night sky. They lacked the beautiful spark of light that Kei had always found there, the warmth that made people feel welcome in their Faction.</p><p> </p><p>It made Kei want to drop his sword and walk away. Seeing Akiteru's eyes empty, without a single light, wasn't unnerving. It was terrifying, and it was sad. Kei didn't know how to react to it.</p><p> </p><p>He did, however, know how to react to the man pouncing on him, teeth bared. Alarmed, Kei thrusted the sword forward. He hadn't screwed his eyes shut, but he wished he did.</p><p> </p><p>Because it was definitely Akiteru who gave him a weak smile as he threw all his power into Kei, draining himself. It was definitely Akiteru who Crowned Kei.</p><p> </p><p>It was definitely Akiteru that did this knowing it would take his life.</p><p> </p><p>⎓</p><p> </p><p>YAMAGUCHI TADASHI</p><p> </p><p>Daichi still wasn't used to the new Stone King. It was as if he was afraid of everything, despite the power he wielded. The boy was even afraid of Daichi, even after the man had stated he was the Righthand to the last Stone King, and was only here to help. In all honesty, it was quite frustrating, even if Daichi knew where he was coming from. Becoming a King was stressful, Daichi knew that better than most. The added power and responsibility to look after a whole faction was already a whole mountain of work—then there was dealing with the other Kings and Factions.</p><p> </p><p>But that wasn't even the whole case with Tadashi. No, because he hadn't even known what a King did. All he knew about them was that they were powerful like no other wielder, and that was it. Nothing else. He barely even knew anything about the Factions, only knowing of the fallen Nature Faction and the Water Faction, despite being in the territory of the Stone Faction, and the new ruler of it. He truly was clueless about the whole situation.</p><p> </p><p>"Tadashi..." Daichi started, looking at the boy seriously. Said boy was staring in what seemed to be bewilderment at a tree that Daichi swore hadn't been there just five minutes ago. "Have you even turned your Power off since you were Crowned?"</p><p> </p><p>The looked over to him at the question, blank confusion painted on his face. Ah, he probably hadn't. "Off?"</p><p> </p><p>Daichi hated that he got that of all things correct.</p><p> </p><p>"Like...have you stopped using your Power since you were Crowned?" Daichi tried, using weak gestures to help back up his words. Apparently, they didn't work, because the confusion on Tadashi's face just seemed to grow stronger. "Like...you're a King, so there's always Power coming off of you, but when you turn it 'off' it stops affecting the things around you unknowingly?"</p><p> </p><p>Tadashi blinked, then turned to the tree, then back to Daichi. "You mean, like, how this tree just grew when I stared at it?" He asked, making a back and forth gesture between Daichi and the tree.</p><p> </p><p>Ah. So the tree wasn't there ten minutes ago. Why had he ever even dared to think it might be otherwise? The kid probably didn't even know how to <em>use </em>his power most of the time.</p><p> </p><p>Sighing, Daichi pushed himself off of the ground. He'd decided to bring the boy along with him, back to the castle, so hat he could actually be the King. But, it seemed the boy still had alot to learn, from how to use his power to actually acting like he possessed it. "Here, I'll show you how to turn it off," Daichi offered, reaching a hand out to the new King. After a moment of hesitance, Tadashi took it with hisnown shaking one.</p><p> </p><p>"First, you need to focus on feeling and seeing the energy," he said, "Then, you need to focus on the energy that belongs to you, emanating from you. After that, imagine sucking it back in, and not letting it out. Like this." Daichi's eyes glowed a dark brown dor a moment, and Tadashi felt the ground and bushes around them move. Then, Daichi blinked, and it was over. Amazed and bewildered, Tadashi couldn't help his looking back and forth between Daichi and the rocks around them. Daichi just grinned at him, placing his hands on his hips in what could only be described as a proud manner. "Not everyone has to reign in their power, of course, especially if they're just a normal wielder. But as a King, you have to reign it in, otherwise you'll keep affecting your surroundings," Daichi informed, to which Tadashi just nodded in a slightly absent-minded manner, still thinking about what Daichi had just done.</p><p> </p><p>His control and knowledge were kind of scary, in a way. Or maybe it wasn't the fact that he seemed to know everything about his new so-called responsibilities and the rules of being a King, but instead lingering fear from being tackled to the ground. Both options were extremely likely.</p><p> </p><p>"Ah, you try it, Tadashi," the man prodded, looking at him encouragingly. Tadashi didn't know whether to smile or shrink away, so he did both, effectively causing Daichi's brows to crease in slight confusion.</p><p> </p><p>Tadashi shook himself out of it and steadied himself, ready to do what was asked. He tried to focus on sensing the energy, but the moment he turned that on, senses of different things bombarded him, so strong he stumbled back without any actual physical intereference with his body.</p><p> </p><p>"Tadashi! Are you alright?" Ah, always immediately at his side. Why was that? Tadashi recalled the man saying that he was some sort of righthand-man to the last Stone King, but he still hadn't quite grasped why he was helping him so much. Was it some sort of duty of theirs to help the next King once the one they served passed on?</p><p> </p><p>The boy nodded and steadied himself again, realising this time that he had to take it down a notch, so as to not feel the energies on such a strong level. Which meant he had to actually stop himself from automatically creating them.</p><p> </p><p>When he tried again, he got as far as focusing on his own energy before  it exploded, causing no phsyical harm save for knocking the boy down a bit. He groaned and sat up, rubbing the side of his face that had taken a harder fall than the other side. Daichi was immediately kneeling beside him, which really didn't make Tadashi feel any better.</p><p> </p><p>"You just need a bit of work," Daichi reassured him, "You'll be able to do it soon, but for now, let's go back to the castle."</p><p> </p><p>Tadashi nodded and picked himself up, accidentally ignoring Daichi's helping hand. "Y-yeah...What do I do when we get there, again?" He asked as he dusted himself off, a nervous chuckle in the question.</p><p> </p><p>The man seemed to think for a moment, probably gathering up all the responsibilities, before he answered. "Well, first, I'll teach you the basics of handling your Power, then I guess we'll have to see if anything has happened to the faction in the King's absence." Tadashi nodded along with this, biting his lip nervously. He still hadn't quite come to terms with his new position, let alone the fact that he actually had to rule over a faction. "Come on, the faction isn't too far from here."<br/><br/><br/></p><p>⎓<br/><br/><br/><br/></p><p>The Stone Faction seemed happy, with young children running around, laughter ringing through Tadashi's ears. It wasn't something he was used to, having lived in the woods for so long. So, naturally, he was taken by surprise.</p><p> </p><p>"Is this what I get to be King of? All these nice people?" He wondered incredulously as they walked through the town, Tadashi in front. Perhaps being King wouldn't be so bad, if his faction was so happy already. "Did the King before me do all this?"</p><p> </p><p>Daichi chuckled at the boy, who was practically shining with childish delight at the happy people around them. Had he never been to the Stone Faction before? "Well, I wouldn't say that he did all of it. The Stone Faction has been a stable and safe community for quite a while now, Makoto just protected that and made sure we thrived under his rule," he answered, looking around at all the happy people. It made him feel a pang in his heart that these same happy people had to find out that Makoto had passed on.</p><p> </p><p>Suddenly, a noise caught Daichi's attention. It sounded like a stomach rumbling. He raised an eyebrow and chuckled as Tadashi froze up, arms stiff at his side. He wasn't very good at hiding things, was he? "Do you want to get something to eat, Tadashi?"</p><p> </p><p>The boy nodded, chuckling sheepishly, not even turning to face Daichi. The man just nodded, bowing, "I will be back soon, King. Please wait here." And with that, the Right-hand was gone.</p><p> </p><p>With his only guide in the Stone Faction gone, fear started to creep up on Tadashi. No, not exactly fear, more like nerves. He was, after all, now alone in a place with a lot of people, even if he did think they were lovely and looked less scary to him than Daichi.</p><p> </p><p>He fiddled with his fingers, pulling at the sleeves of the robe Daichi had given him after explaining to him who was now, nervously glancing around at the people of the Stone Faction. No one seemed to notice, and if they did, they didn't think anything of it. Did they really feel that safe here? It made Tadashi a little nervous now, the more that he thought about it. After all, he didn't want to be the one to destroy their sense of safety...</p><p> </p><p>He was snapped out of his thoughts by a strong wave of energy, then a tap on the shoulder. With panic slightly running through his veins, he whipped around to face a beautiful blonde boy, Tadashi himself already taking a step back.</p><p> </p><p>⎓<br/><br/><br/><br/></p><p>King of the Night, Ruler of the Fifth Faction, Puller of the Moon and Stars. All titles that would belong to one person, one King, at a time. The Fifth King, the Night King. The King that Kei never thought he would become. The titles that he thought he would never inherit. The titles that he didn't want to inherit, had never wanted to. No longer was he 'Prince' Kei, brother of the King, next in line should anything ever happen to Akiteru. Now, he <em>was</em> the King, because something had happened to Akiteru.</p><p> </p><p>Yui had seemed quite devastated at the news, almost to the point that Kei wondered if she really wanted him only to be close to Akiteru, but he had half a brain to feel something odd about the girl. At first, she'd just seemed to be a beautiful female who had somehow worked her way up to be a thorn in Kei's side by proposing the idea of becoming his fiancé, but Akiteru had stabbed him the day she came. He kept his suspicions confined to him and Bokuto, though, knowing how ridiculous others would find it. Akiteru had been a King, after all, and the King of the Night at that. It should be impossible for someone to work their way into his mind like that, especially if that someone wasn't a King themselves. In any case, he'd called off the potential engagement.</p><p> </p><p>Now, he was in the Stone Faction, having come to question Shimada Makoto about the girl, her being from his Faction. Though, now that he was face to face with a scrawny looking freckled boy, it seemed there had to be a change to his plans. Akiteru wasn't the only King who passed away recently.</p><p> </p><p>The new Stone King blinked up at him, shrinking back even more. There seemed to be something akin to fear in his eyes, which were glowing green in a slightly unnatural way. Definitely a King, if the energy, almost identical to Shimada Makoto's, wasn't enough evidence. A very timid King.</p><p> </p><p>"You're Makoto's successor," Kei simply said. Confusion began to mix in with fear on the boy's face, causing Kei to internally sigh. Pathetic, especially for a King. Though, deep down, Kei knew he couldn't talk. "You're a new King."</p><p> </p><p>Slowly, the boy nodded, straightening his back to put himself on more even ground with the blonde. It still wasn't very even, though, with their huge height difference. "My...My name is Yamaguchi Tadashi-"</p><p> </p><p>"Tsukishima Kei," the new Night King cut him off casually, already turning on his heel, "Come with me, Tadashi."</p><p> </p><p>"A-Ah, I'm actually waiting for someo-"</p><p> </p><p>The boy shut up when Kei turned his head, eyebrows furrowed and a sharp point to his eyes that the light unfortunately caught on. "I wasn't asking for your permission."</p><p> </p><p>"A-Ah, right..." Tadashi mumbled, lowering his gaze as he hesitantly followed the blonde, looking back for Daichi. Would he be mad if he was gone?</p><p> </p><p>Kei lead them to the entrance of a small restaurant, the sign faded but readable: KEN'S KITCHEN. From the looks of it, everyone eating there was as happy as those outside, putting Tadashi more at ease. At least the blonde wasn't taking him to some shady area.</p><p> </p><p>Actually, why did the blonde want him? And, now that he was thinking properly...what was this strong energy that Tadashi felt coming in waves off of the boy?</p><p> </p><p>The moment they entered and sat down at a table, Tadashi opened his mouth to ask, but the blonde beat him to it with that quick mouth of his. "You seem to be clueless, so I'll spell it out for you; I'm the new Night King, before you ask anything. Now, do you know a young girl by the name of Michimiya Yui?"</p><p> </p><p>"Yui? I know a Yui!"</p><p> </p><p>Tadashi jumped at the appearance of a young boy, standing in front of their table, between Kei and him. "W-Who are you?!"</p><p> </p><p>"Hinata Shouyou, sir yes sir!" the boy, Shouyou, responded, saluting him with a puff out chest. Tadashi sweat dropped, not quite knowing how to react to that. Kei, on the other hand, seemed to know exactly how he wanted to react.</p><p> </p><p>"Shortie, you didn't even use that correctly," he said, a mocking tone evident. Shouyou turned to face him fully, eyebrows furrowed and cheeks puffed out, fists clenched in front of him.</p><p> </p><p>"Did you just call me 'Shortie'?! I bet you're not even that tall!"</p><p> </p><p>"Oh, yeah?" Kei stood, revealing that he did, in fact, tower over the living tangerine. Tadashi couldn't help but snicker at the way Shouyou gawked at the blonde's height, making unintelligible noises as he glanced between Tadashi and the blonde, jaw hitting the floor, hands making random gestures, as if to ask the King if he could believe the height of Kei. "Anyways," Kei said, a slight sigh to his voice as he shifted his attention back to Tadashi and laced his slender fingers together before him on the table. "She's from your faction. Do you know her?"</p><p> </p><p>"Hey! Don't just ignore me!" the shorter boy whined, jumping and flailing his limbs. Kei proceeded to pretend he wasn't there, continuing to just stare right at Tadashi seriously.</p><p> </p><p>For Tadashi, it was a little bit harder, but Kei's piercing eyes made him think twice about answering the orange before him. "A-Ah...No? I'm new to this whole 'King' thing..." Tadashi answered truthfully, casting his gaze down as he played with his sleeves.</p><p> </p><p>Shouyou stopped suddenly, much to Kei's satisfaction, tilting his head, light brown eyes wide with confusion. "King?"</p><p> </p><p>Knowing that he would be interrupted, Kei just sat back, watching as the tangerine's face contorted in realisation. "Woah!" he gasped, looking between the blonde and the green-headed boy so much and so rapidly that it was a wonder how his skinny little neck hadn't snapped right off from the force yet. Perhaps it was used to this from the beginning of the boy's existence. "You're a King!" the delight in his widened eyes was evident, the sparkle comparable to that of a child's. "And you!" he then pointed to Kei, who just raised an eyebrow, already knowing what words were coming next, "You're...You're...rich!"</p><p> </p><p>Maybe he overestimated this child's brain capacity.</p><p> </p><p>"By gods, you're dumb," Kei grumbled, turning back to Tadashi, who was sweating nervously. "Then what about your former King? Did he know her?"</p><p> </p><p>The tangerine gawped at the boy. "I'm not dumb! Just..Just give me a sec, I'll figure it out!" He said, causing Kei to roll his eyes and smirk at him.</p><p> </p><p>"Okay, you have a minute," Kei smirked, leaning his cheek on his palm. The tangerine's brows furrowed in concentration as he tried to think of who, or what, the blonde may be. Nothing. "Ah-Ah, it seems like your minute is almost up. It seems that you can't figure it out. What will you do, Shortie?"</p><p> </p><p>Said shortie just stuck his tongue out at him. "I'll get it!"</p><p> </p><p>Kei scoffed, "No, you won't."</p><p> </p><p>From a few tables away, two men were all but whispering. "Did you hear? Apparently the Night faction has a new King..."</p><p> </p><p>Shouyou snapped up, face contorting with realisation. "AHA! You're the new Night King from the Fifth Faction! You act stuck up enough for it!" he nearly screamed, face proud as he pointed at the blonde, who just scoffed and leaned back.</p><p> </p><p>"At least I am a King."</p><p> </p><p>The boy chose to ignore Kei's snark in favour of looking between the two Kings excitedly, delighted to be in their company, even if he'd just forced his way in. "I can't believe it! You're the new Kings!" he exclaimed, jumping and sticking out his arms. "Ah, I bet it's so cool to be a King! I wish I were like you guys!"</p><p> </p><p>Tadashi smiled sheepishly, hyperaware of the attention that was being directed at them by some patrons who heard Shouyou speaking. "E-Ehehe...Shouyou, could you, um...not shout?" he tried, delivering his words as gently as possible, so as not to be too harsh.</p><p> </p><p>On the other hand, Kei seemed to not care for that. He snarled, "Shut your mouth, will you? It's drawing unwanted, just like you, attention."</p><p> </p><p>"Gah. For the King of such a fancy Faction, you sure don't speak very nice!" Shouyou puffed his cheeks out, crossing his arms. Kei raised a brow at him.</p><p> </p><p>"What? Did you expect me to speak in a fake, powdery accent?" he snapped. From his position outside of the soon to be thunder dome, Tadashi was growing more and more nervous. Were they going to argue? Was this conversation, which was supposed to be quiet, serious and private to the two Kings, going to turn into a screaming fest? Oh gods no.</p><p> </p><p>"H-hey, guys...! Let's not fight, shall we?" the boy tried, making weak gestures as he tried to diffuse the conversation. The other two ignored him, Kei just disregarding him, Shouyou too caught up in his talk with Kei to notice. "Guys?" he said again when the two just continued to glare at each other. In all honesty, it was quite scary.</p><p> </p><p>Finally, Shouyou snapped out of it. "Oh! Sorry!" he apologised, bowing. "So," he said when he lifted himself again and slid a chair from another table over to sit with them. Kei's face contorted with annoyance and even a tinge of disgust, but he chose to let this go. "What brings the both of you to this little town in the Stone Faction?"</p><p> </p><p>"I don't see why I'm obligated to answer you," Kei replied nonchalantly, sliding his eyelids shut, much to Shouyou's annoyance.</p><p> </p><p>"Ah...Apparently, I'm the new King of this faction..." Tadashi said, pulling on his sleeves and averting his eyes, hoping that Shouyou hadn't known his predecessor. After seeing how Daichi had reacted, he was afraid of how others may react, too. From what he'd gathered this past day, his predecessor, Shimada Makoto, was a good man who'd made many people happy. Tadashi didn't wish to break those same people's hearts with the news of his death. He didn't want to be the one to succeed the man, one last shard of him to his people , only to disappoint them. Probably, this would happen almost immediately.</p><p> </p><p>Shouyou's eyes widened, his mouth forming an 'O' shape. "WOAH! That's so cool?"</p><p> </p><p>Tadashi blinked. Cool? Huh?</p><p> </p><p>A sigh left Kei's lips, heavy and laced with disappointment. "Idiot, the former King died so that he could be Crowned. Unless," he said, looking straight at Tadashi, "He made a Power transfer?" Tadashi shook his head no, causing realisation to hit Shouyou like the floor to a child who launched themselves off of a tall building.</p><p> </p><p>"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to!"</p><p> </p><p>"Ah, it's alright, Shouyou. Just... try not to be so loud, please," Tadashi said, causing the tangerine to nod. Ah, finally, it was qui-</p><p> </p><p>"<em>Tadashi</em>!" Daichi's voice rang out, causing the three boys to snap their necks up to see the brunette man slamming the door open and scanning the restaurant for him. When he spotted the King, he immediately rushed over to him, what seemed to be food in his hands. "Tadashi, where did you disappear off t- is that Prince Kei?" The man paused to eye the new Night King, a little confused on why he was in the Stone Faction's territory, let alone in a small town.</p><p> </p><p>The blonde just nodded casually. "King Kei, as of yesterday, actually," he informed, already turning away in an attempt to look as apathetic as usual, despite everyone already knowing of how close they were.</p><p> </p><p>Daichi's face softened. "Oh, I'm sorry...Your brother was great man." Kei didn't answer that. After a few moments of awkward silence, Daichi turned to Tadashi. "Tadashi, why did you leave? I thought I had to go looking for another King for a moment there."</p><p> </p><p>The boy in question just smiled sheepishly, scratching the back of his neck. "Ah..You see, Kei wanted to speak with me...Oh! Do you know a Michimiya Yui?" At the mention of the name, Daichi's eyes darkened, and Kei snapped to attention. That was what he was supposed to ask Makoto, but perhaps his Right-hand man could suffice. Meanwhile, Shouyou smiled innocently, not knowing what was going on, and Tadashi was starting to regret asking.</p><p> </p><p>"Who's asking?"</p><p> </p><p>Kei almost snorted. Almost. "Isn't it obvious? Me."</p><p> </p><p>Daichi just bit his lip, thinking for a moment. Finally, he said; "Right. You three, come with me."</p><p> </p><p>⎓</p><p> </p><p>Sometimes Daichi could still see nature rebelling against the people, the vines and weeds whipping out and strangling them. Sometimes, when he closed his eyes, he still saw the utter chaos that the fallen Nature Faction was in, and was putting others in.</p><p> </p><p>His old faction.</p><p> </p><p>Makoto had been the one to take away the pain, to solve everything, to restore order. Daichi had been the one to cause problems. Combined, lead to the death of the former Right-hand of the Nature Faction.</p><p> </p><p>Daichi sighed; he supposed his new King deserved to know, along with the new Night King. Once they were all seated in the throne room, the two Kings obviously sharing the throne with their friend sitting on the stone floor next to them, and Daichi kneeling on the carpet, he began his story.</p><p> </p><p>"Yui was from the Fourth Faction, the one that fell seven years ago. She was the Right-hand to the King," Daichi started. "The Powers went...haywire when the faction Crowned a new King. She died in the chaos that ensued."</p><p> </p><p>Kei raised a brow, not that Daichi could see it, his eyes being averted. "Then tell me why, exactly, a dead girl is trying to wed me."</p><p> </p><p>"What?" Daichi's head snapped up at that. It was impossible. Yui had died trying to keep the faction from falling, from being defeated. She was dead. It had been seven years since the incident, and Daichi was sure the girl was dead, much as it hurt him to be real and tell himself the truth. "That's impossible. Michimiya Yui is dead."</p><p> </p><p>The King of the Night shrugged. "She doesn't seem very dead to me."</p><p> </p><p>Daichi gritted his teeth, doing his best to reign in his rage. <em>Calm yourself, Daichi. He's just seventeen, and he's upset over the death of his brother. Besides, you can't lash out at a King</em>. That's right. Nothing to worry about. He was calm. He knew that Kei hadn't meant to insult Yui's memory.</p><p> </p><p>"Pri- King Kei, if you don't mind me asking for it, may I have more information on this 'Michimiya Yui' that is trying to wed you?" Daichi asked. Perhaps their name sharing was a coincidence. Or perhaps he'd have to strangle an impostor.</p><p> </p><p>Kei opened his mouth to answer, but was interrupted by the sudden opening of the door. "Sir!" shouted a breathless servant, "King Asahi of the Light Faction has been announced dead! We've done a search, and several villages and towns from our Faction have already complained about the sun burning their skin! Have you located King Makoto yet?"</p><p> </p><p>The room was silent for a moment, before Daichi spoke to the servant, his voice loud and authoritative. And strained.</p><p> </p><p>"Atticus, I need you to tell everyone that Makoto is no more. Yesterday, while searching in the Rocalian Wood, I found Yamaguchi Tadashi. From today, he is our new King."</p><p> </p><p>The servant's eyes widened. "Y-You mean to say..." Daichi nodded, willing himself not to dwell on it for too long. After all, the King of Light had just been murdered, and at a similar time to both King Akiteru's and Makoto's deaths, too. There was a killer out there, targeting the Kings. And that was what was really scary.</p><p> </p><p>Daichi looked over to the two Kings on the throne and steeled himself. He bowed, "We await your command, Kings."</p><p> </p><p>⎓</p><p> </p><p>Asahi was dead. The Light King was dead. His fiancé was dead.</p><p> </p><p>Yuu tried to remain calm as he waited outside the gates of the Stone Faction's castle, really, he did, but he just couldn't find it in him. At first, they'd kept Asahi's death confined to the Light Faction while they searched for their new King, for fear a faction would take advantage of the fact that they were currently without a King, but they were getting desperate now. It had been a week, and still they could find no sign of their new King. They were growing more and more panicked by the hour.</p><p> </p><p>He hadn't even gotten to mourn Asahi properly, not as he should have, with with being Asahi's Right-hand while he reigned. It was part of his job to not only find the new Light King, but also lead the Faction in case of the King's absence. Both jobs were proving to be harder, the latter more so than usual. Perhaps it was the stress, because in any other case, Yuu would've immediately informed the other Factions of the murder of a King, putting that before finding a new King, even though they needed one. The murder of a King was far more serious than just a simple passing or Power transfer, as the Death Faction's former King had done. The severity only tripled when he heard of the deaths of both the Fire and Night Kings.</p><p> </p><p>As soon as the gates opened, he was running it at top speed. He needed to talk to Makoto. He needed to talk to the other Kings. The courtyard was a blur as he darted for the doors to the castle, the servants around him nothing but shapeless blobs as he ran for the castle. He made it all the way to the front door before he paused, a sudden shock going through him. He gasped as his eyes widened, glowing a bright white.</p><p> </p><p>Asahi's energy. That was Asahi's energy, the energy of the Sun.</p><p> </p><p>Yuu whipped around, only to be faced with nothing. No one was there. Had he imagined it? Had the pain of losing his fiancé crept in more than he'd thought he'd let it? Now, of all days, when he was about to speak to Makoto?</p><p> </p><p>"Yuu?" He recognised that voice. Slowly, he turned back to the door. Standing there in all his glory, mouth slightly agape, his spiky-haired Right-hand by his side as always, was Oikawa Tooru. The King of Water, or, in some cases, the Blood King.</p><p> </p><p>"Tooru? Why are you here?" The shorter man questioned, relaxing himself slightly. The Water Faction were friends of the Light Faction - they wouldn't harm him. Especially not Tooru and Hajime, of all duos.</p><p> </p><p>The man's jaw tensed. "Well...I heard that Aki-chan and Tanji-chan died unnaturally, and I found it strange, so I decided to come talk to Mako-chan about it, but.." the brunette averted his gaze, gnawing on his lip. Hajime just slapped him on the shoulder, which seemed to give Tooru the strength to finish his sentence, albeit he was no longer looking Yuu right in the eye. "But Mako-chan...He's gone, too. They have a new King."</p><p> </p><p>Yuu blinked, already feeling the unfamiliar sensation of falling. "What?" First Asahi, then Tanji and Akiteru, now Makoto? Light, Fire, Night and Stone. Already, four Kings were dead. The First, the Seventh, the Fifth and the Third Factions had already been hit. Now, Yuu wondered if Tetsurou, the former King of Death, had given up his position months ago for a reason. "Makoto's dead?"</p><p> </p><p>The King of Water cringed at his wording, but nodded, rubbing his elbow as he looked to the side. "Yeah," he said, voice almost cracking, "Daichi found their new King yesterday. His name is Yamaguchi Tadashi." Yuu just shook his head, his spiky brown hair shaking along with him.</p><p> </p><p>"How...Who's doing this?"</p><p> </p><p>"We don't know yet. That's why we've called all the Kings. They should be here on the morrow," informed a voice from behind Tooru. The two taller men shifted so they could half face them, with Yuu just craning his neck and doing his best to see them. Though, they didn't really need to, as they all recognised the voice that belonged to Makoto's Right-hand man. Daichi stood there, staring at them with semi-lowered brows and an expression that completely reflected the graveness of the situation. "We already have the new King of the Night here. Death is coming."</p><p> </p><p>Yuu shivered, rubbing the sides of his arms. Tooru gave him a slightly fed up look, mouth hanging open, while Hajime just facepalmed next to him. "Really, Dai-chan? You couldn't have thought of a better way to word that?"</p><p> </p><p>It took Daichi a second to realise his mistake. "Ah," he rubbed the back of his neck, smiling softly at the other men, "My mistake. Sorry."</p><p> </p><p>⎓</p><p> </p><p>In the hours Tadashi had known Kei and Shouyou, he'd figured out two things; one, the two would never get along normally, and two, Shouyou never ran out of energy. Ever.</p><p> </p><p>If Tadashi was being honest, he wondered if the boy had an off switch somewhere. He'd brought that up to Kei, who had then proceeded to tell him that everyone had an off switch called thread. For some reason, he found that quite funny, even if he would never do such a thing to Shouyou. Kei might, and Tadashi would be lying if he said he would stop Kei in every situation.</p><p> </p><p>He definitely wouldn't stop him in <em>this</em> situation.</p><p> </p><p>"Tadashi!! Do you think that if I jump high enough, people could see me from far away?" The sixteen year old exclaimed, jumping up and down on the bed. They had requested to share a room tonight, they being Shouyou, and Daichi for some reason had obliged. At first, Tadashi honestly thought it wasn't a bad idea. After all, what could be so bad about sleeping with a couple of friends—at least that's what Shouyou called them—instead of alone? Kei had been opposed, but Tadashi had managed to convince the blonde to stay with them for the night.</p><p> </p><p>The new King chuckled softly from his position next to Kei on the chaise lounge. "I think it's possible."</p><p> </p><p>Shouyou cheered, jumping again.</p><p> </p><p>"No, he's too tiny. Also, stop jumping on the bed, you'll break it, you idiot," Kei said, not even bothering to look up at the tangerine as he flipped the page in his book.</p><p> </p><p>"Hey! That's mean!"</p><p> </p><p>"I have a point, though."</p><p> </p><p>"No you don-"</p><p> </p><p>"Now now," Tadashi cut in, deciding to solve the situation before the problem started, "Let's not argue. Anyways, shouldn't we be sleeiny soon? Apparently we have a meeting with the other Kings tomorrow."</p><p> </p><p>"Ugh, don't even remind me," Kei gagged, but his face was so expressionless that Tadashi almost couldn't tell. "I'll have to deal with that annoying shortie from the Light Faction again."</p><p> </p><p>At the word 'shortie', Shouyou's ears perked up. "Does this me-"</p><p> </p><p>"Shut up," Kei said immediately, "And get off the bed if you won't sleep in it." Shouyou stuck out his tongue, but moved along anyways.</p><p> </p><p>"Fine, since you won't welcome us, I'll just sleep with Tadashi!" The tangerine scoffed, wrapping his arms around Tadashi's. The boy just raised a brow, smiling.</p><p> </p><p>The blonde rolled his eyes. "I never said <em>Tadashi</em> couldn't sleep on the bed, I'm only keeping out annoying nuisances such as yourself."</p><p> </p><p>"Hey!" Shouyou gawped. He immediately turned to Tadashi, "Don't leave me!"</p><p> </p><p>"Leave him."</p><p> </p><p>⎓</p><p>It had only been a few days and Kei already disliked this 'King' business.</p><p> </p><p>Daichi had come to collect the two Kings bright and early, much to Kei's chagrin. Thankfully, though, Shouyou was not welcome to attend the meeting, so that was a plus. The entire way there, Tadashi was fiddling with his fingers, something that Kei couldn't help but notice. But did he say anything? Absolutely not.</p><p> </p><p>The moment Daichi pushed those doors open, Kei was immediately overcome with the waves of power that the the room gave off. Just how many Kings were present? From looking, Kei could note Oikawa Tooru of the Water Faction, Ushijima Wakatoshi from the Fire Faction, Yachi Hitoka from the Death Faction, Tanaka Saeko of the Wind Faction, and Kei didn't bother with the rest. One other person that stood out to him, though, was the brunette boy from the Light Faction. Wasn't that headed by a tall man with questionable hair choices?</p><p> </p><p>Perhaps something had happened to him, too, just as something had happened to Akiteru. If Kei had any braincells, he'd guess that Saeko would corner him later for the 'real story' behind her lover's death. Kei wondered if he could just pretend to be dead, too.</p><p> </p><p>"Alright. Let's get down to business," Tooru started. It was a small surprise to actually see him serious for once, but Kei supposed a situation like this did call for it. "There is a killer out there who is targeting Kings specifically. So far, they have taken Kings Tanji—no he didn't die of old age—of the Fire Faction, Asahi of the Light Faction, and supposedly Makoto of the Stone Faction. Not to mention, it is suspected that they had a role to play in King Akiteru's death. We have to act now and find who it is quickly, before we lose more Kings. Those who were Crowned are not always easy to find, which has been demonstrated by-"</p><p> </p><p>"I have something to contribute to this." Tooru stopped talking, staring at Kei confusedly, before furrowing his brows and nodding a vigorously. A sign to keep talking, rarely given to those who interrupted Tooru. "I think I have a lead on who the Kingkiller is."</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>#operationgrayproject<br/>I love u bitcht.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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